Something Like This
by strawberryshinigami15
Summary: His shoulder throbbed dully, but that didn't matter. What was more pressing was the fact that Tifa kissed him. How could she stand there, not a care in the world? After what just ensued? Cloud certainly couldn't. He felt like the universe just imploded. -short drabble, cloti. fluff-


Here's a short drabble... I was really bored. Intended on making it shorter, but you know...plot bunnies. I don't know if it's any good, but there's always room in the cloti fanfic department.

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Cloud leaned against the door frame heavily. It had been a rough night. Well, rough was a bit of an understatement. There were a lot of deliveries to be made. To put it quite frankly, he was exhausted. But that may have been due to physical stress.

It was a miracle he made it home okay. His ankle made it nearly impossible to drive, and his shoulder didn't help either.

He shook his head, hair cascading down his face. It was incredibly stupid of him. Simply put, he was just taken off guard. He assumed after everything had happened, the amount of monsters had dwindled, but they didn't. Or at least not in Junon. Cloud tested out his ankle, tentatively putting weight on it. It hurt like hell, but he'd gone through worse. Now his shoulder…. that was an entirely different story. It definitely needed a cast, and that meant he couldn't use his sword for a few months. He hated not being able to protect people. Here he was, with all his problems, being more useless.

He braced himself, hearing footsteps. Realizing they belonged to Tifa, he relaxed. Unfortunately his muscles were so tensed up that that simple action caused him to wobble quite ungracefully.

"Hey, Teef. Sorry I'm home so late." He gave a quick smile, having regained his balance. To his dismay, her eyes instantly darted to his leg. Cloud silently cursed himself, realizing that he was inadvertently leaning on it.

"Cloud, what happened?"

He didn't meet her eyes. He couldn't, knowing that he was fully responsible for the worry so clearly etched on her face.

"Fell of the bike," he muttered, feeling more ashamed. How could he have been so stupid?

Her eyes instantly softened, ruby filled with warmth. "I told you to be careful, Cloud. That route is still dangerous, even now."

"I know, and I should have been more careful," he admitted, eyes still glued to the floor. "I'm sorry."

Tifa laughed silently. He was sorry, for injuring himself? She was just glad that he was able to come home. "It's okay," she reassured him. "You deserve a break anyway, you work too hard." Fingers prodded the afflicted area, face frowning slightly. "It looks twisted. I'll go get some ice." It was only then when she maneuvered out of his way that she noticed his shoulder, hanging loosely by his side.

Tifa frowned deeper. It was just like Cloud to be as discreet as possible, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Didn't he know that this affected her too? She could shoulder some of the weight too. Exasperated, she ran her fingers through her hair, thinking. He needed to be distracted….she smirked. No problem. Cloud was always one to get flustered easily. She returned to the living room, ice in hand.

"How were the deliveries?" she asked, keen on keeping conversation flowing, even by idle chatter.

He looked up at her, surprised. It was clear he did not expect that. Good. She carefully pressed the ice on his ankle, glad to see the swelling go down.

"Fine. I got all of them through, before-"he was cut off suddenly. Throwing her dignity out the window, Tifa lightly pressed her lips to his, before pulling away. This wasn't a part of the plan, but her earlier attempt was too slow. Truthfully, she just wanted an excuse to kiss him. To watch his pupils dilate in surprise, to know the feeling of his soft lips.

It worked. Whatever he was expecting, this was not it. Grinning at the sheer dumfounded look on his face, Tifa slowly maneuvered toward Cloud's side, hoping he was still in his state of disbelief. God, he was an idiot sometimes. She had lost count of how many customers asked about him, wondering of his relationship status. Damn him. He was so infuriatingly beautiful.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts-_why was she thinking about this? She had some shred of decency_- Tifa firmly shoved his shoulder into the socket, setting it back in place.

_That should work._

Cloud blinked, out of his daze. His shoulder throbbed dully, but that didn't matter. What was more pressing was the fact that Tifa _kissed him_. Did that mean..? But this was out of the blue. Their relationship, up until now, was so simple. But this changed everything. He had no clue what to do.

"So, you were saying?" Tifa was smiling gently. How could she stand there, not a care in the world? _After what just ensued? _Cloud certainly couldn't. He felt like the universe just imploded.

"Right. The deliveries got done, before…." He trailed off, still unsure of what to do.

"Well," Tifa clasped her hands together, "At least you're safe. Gives us more time…." She whispered into his ear, leaving the answer up to imagination. She watched his eyes widen slowly as he tried to work out what she meant. This was terribly fun.

"To do what, exactly?" he replied, eyebrows raised, mouth set in a slight smirk. Oh, she was good. But he was even better. Her face was priceless. She clearly did not see that one coming. _Bingo._ His oblivious persona worked.

"Something like this?" he leaned in, tilting her face ever so slightly. Tifa could feel her heartbeat pounding as he kissed her softly, sliding his hands down to her waist. She kissed him back, hands wrapping around his neck. Ah. This. This was what months of waiting led up to. This moment. This glorious moment, feeling his soft lips and his warm skin and his feathery hair. The way their bodies melded together perfectly.

Eventually they parted, cheeks flush with excitement. Cloud motioned upstairs.

"Continue?"

There was no need to answer. Instead, Tifa gave a swift nod, still numb on euphoria. Making her way upstairs, she thrust her hand in Clouds, smiling at how perfect it seemed.

_This.. I could get used to._


End file.
